David Yebra

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) David Yebra is the Director of the Training and Leader Development Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Prior to coming to TDCJ, he was the Director of Emergency Management at Sam Houston State University. David developed and still facilitates the 9-month long SHSU High-Potential Employee Leadership Academy experience. He is a graduate of West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering Management. He also has a Master of Science Degree in Counseling and Leader Development from Long Island University.

David served the Nation as an Officer in the U.S. Army for 24 years that included three years deployed to combat in Iraq. He is a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was awarded four Bronze Star Medals during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was also selected as the U.S. Army Cadet Command Professor of Military Science of the Year in 2011 out of 273 university programs in the country. He received the Legion of Merit upon retirement in 2014.

David continues to serve as a facilitator for leader development events for numerous organizations including the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas’ Leadership Command College and Texas Constables Leadership Course, the Texas Justice Court Training Center, SHSU athletics, and various university and community groups.